September 27, 2018
Results
The SEABASED Project (Seabased Measures in Baltic Sea Nutrient Management), led by the John Nurminen Foundation and funded by the EU, examined measures that potentially could improve the state of the Baltic Sea by reducing the internal nutrient load of the sea. Although some of the piloted methods show great potential, no silver bullet was found to quickly relieve the nutrient load and eutrophication troubling the Baltic Sea. However, some methods for reducing internal load can be useful for improving the environmental conditions in heavily eutrophied, relatively enclosed small bay areas.
Results from the project pilots and their implications were discussed in a webinar organised by the SEABASED project on January 26th, 2021. Here are the recordings of the webinar. You can find the presentations behind this link.
Reports and guidelines
The SEABASED project has produced information on the feasibility, risks, monitoring, cost-effectiveness, and development needs of different sea-based measures aiming to reduce the internal nutrient load in the sea. This valuable knowledge on the sea-based measures along with practical experiences will be compiled into practical guidelines to help Baltic Sea protection in the future. The guidelines are available on via this link.
The SEABASED project piloted and assessed measures that seek to improve the status of the selected sea bays by reducing the internal load of the sea. Some of the measures can also support the circular economy by recycling nutrients from sea to land. In the project recycling of the nutrient-rich water for irrigation of fields, binding of phosphorus in the seabed sediment by using natural, limestone-based material (heat-treated marl) and fishing stickleback to enhance predatory fish populations were piloted in Finland, Åland and Sweden. In addition, artificial reefs, and instructions for making a pike factory, a wetland to enhance pike populations, were made in Sweden, and a concept for aquatic compensations was designed, related to the renovation of the Water Act in Åland. The potential of sediment top-layer removal for phosphorus uptake and reducing the oxygen demand in the bottom was studied with incubation tests in laboratory scale.
The results from the field pilots can be found in reports linked below:
Binding P with activated limestone – SEABASED Pilot Report
Stickleback fishing – SEABASED Pilot Report
Sediment Removal -SEABASED Pilot Report
Nutrients from Sea to Field – SEABASED Pilot Report
Manual for artificial reefs – SEABASED Pilot Report
Manual for Irrigation – SEABASED Pilot Report
Manual for Pike factories – SEABASED Pilot Report